General comment for all courses

In most cases, students who try to enroll in courses I frequently teach that have limited enrollment opportunities are first placed on a waitlist, even when there is considerable space still in the course.

If you are on the waitlist your best strategy is a) to attend the first sessions of the class and b) to state your interest in the course in an email to me using the keyword "enrollmentissue" (no spaces used—see the sidebar for how to email me). You can also email me and, if I have time, I can give you a sense of my intentions for that particular class (not for you as an individual but the general size of the class and so on.) You can try talking to me after that first class but as a practical matter I do not always remember our conversation since there are quite a few random things going on after class during those first few sessions. Just talking to me is risky; talking with me and following up with an email is much better. Use the keyword, above.

I try to rapidly determine the final enrollment of a class and can probably give you a "sense" of your status after the first two or so sessions of the course. However, since I work with the department on this it can take up to two weeks to settle all issues. In most cases whether or not you are a major, intended major or minor is very important, and when you will be graduating is important. However, beyond this there can be a wide variety of individual factors which I give due consideration. In some of my classes Jan Johnson makes most of the choices, but in communication with me. In other classes I like to take the lead.

Informal notice hastily written April 9 (for Telebears)

It seems likely that I will teach this class Fall 2012 since Professor Horton will be on leave. I last taught this class Fall 2008. I have taught this class both in fall and spring semesters. It is a poetry class and, if in the fall we read autumn-related poems from the Manyoshu, Kokinshu and Shin-kokinshu. If it is in the spring we read from the same anthologies but the spring-related poems. Also, since love poems are my favorite, we read some of these as well. Expect to read a LOT of poems in English and many poems in Japanese. This class stays very close to the original texts. Expect to do a lot of language work, but the poems are beautiful and you will have a much better sense for how to read waka by the end of the term.

Here is a link to my very old site, I am not even checking to see whether this works or not (it uses frames), just linking you to it: J130 Fall 2008

Other headings on these pages:

• Is this course a good fit for you?
• Access to course details
• If waitlisted or unable to get onto a waitlist ...